You can be a pretty damn good defender...you can be elite...but come on, you aren't going to go THAT many games without a single foul called on you.

In fact, I took Scottie Pippen's games with the Bulls, from 1987-1998 (11 seasons), and I didn't find a single instance of him going more than one game without being called for a foul. One game.

Kobe's streak is three games, just one time in his career (this season, actually). The other times he went two games without a foul? He wasn't a starter in all but one instance of that.

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Funny part is, LeBron did this in 2009, also...from 3/22 to 3/31 (five consecutive games without a foul)...and Steve Nash, who is known as a horrible defender, did it for 11 games this year, 1/8 to 1/28 (lol).

Is this an indication of LeBron not being a good defensive player this year, or because he's just incredlble defending others and never fouling? OR he's just not getting calls against him?

Is this an indication of LeBron not being a good defensive player this year, or because he's just incredlble defending others and never fouling? OR he's just not getting calls against him?

That is a very good question to ask, Real Deal. To be honest, I haven't watched enough of Lebron this season to make a warranted claim. I'm a basketball fan so I know I should, but I've had minimal time and have barely caught all the Lakers games.

"I'm always a firm believer in us being able to make our own decisions." --Kobe Bryant

The defense LeBron plays uses a lot of his body and strength, and that's why many call him a great defender - because his body allows it. I would be interested to see who he's guarded in these games, and how they did while LeBron was guarding them. I can't make any judgements because I honestly haven't been keeping up with the Heat, but that's quite a long streak for someone as powerful as him to not take in enough contact to get a foul called on him.

Someone posted a similar stretch for LBJ on a message board several years ago (I think 2008). They showed how LeBron had been averaging something like 1 foul per game, it was ridiculous. Ever since then I knew the NBA was letting him get away with quite a bit. He's become a better defender since then but playing that many minutes and barely fouling is just unheard of really.

Or David Stern has something to do with this.... I honestly don't believe Lebron is a god on ball defensive player when he's torched by Melo and many other players the worst player I've seen him get torched by was Jon Lucas... I do feel he can get physical with big men and he is a great help defensive player but for on ball defense no..

James has played 23 games now, for his 17-6 Miami Heat, and he’s still only registered 32 fouls on the year. It’s been five games, LeBron has played over 186 minutes over the course of his team’s 4-1 run, and he hasn’t been hit with a single foul throughout the entirety of that span. Not a tap or a tweet or a flop or a flail. Impressive stuff, LeBron. So much so that our friends at The Basketball Jones have marveled at this streak in each of their most recent podcasts. So much so that on Saturday night, in a game against the notoriously slap-happy Utah Jazz, LeBron might take in some sarcastic applause from Heat fans should he be whistled for his first foul in two weeks.

That is, of course, assuming the people that buy tickets to a Miami Heat game on a Saturday night pay attention to this stuff.

The streak has actually gone on past 186 minutes. James was hit with his second foul, and offensive charge, nine and a half minutes into the Dec. 8th win over the Hornets. This means he played a good 25 minutes or so during that contest without an infraction, which puts the foul-less streak at over 211 minutes. Considering James’ All-Defensive First Team credentials, this is strong stuff.

Strong stuff that, for those that like to do their finest work in comment sections, might be sloughed off as a “Star Treatment” situation. It’s true that, without meaning to, NBA referees show deferential treatment to superstars when they make their split-second whistle decisions mostly because they tend to trust an All-NBA type more than a scrub when it comes to judgment calls. It’s not that NBA refs are trying to keep the stars on the floor, players like LeBron James are too good to make something like that come into consideration, it’s just the inherent bias that comes from seeing talented players consistently do remarkable things.

If you haven't committed 1 single foul in 5 games, it is either you are not playing with the intensity on both sides of court, or the coach does not want him to all out so he can play more minutes. But come on, 5 games? I mean it doesn't only have to be a defensive foul, but he hasn't committed an offensive foul also? No charge? Elbow? Push? Hold? Illegal screen?